Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2014
Volume 59, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 3–7, 2014; Denver, Colorado
Session T38: Invited Session: Reichert Award Session: Preparing Students for the Transition from Instructional to Research Lab |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd Chair: Heather Lewandowski, University of Colorado Boulder Room: 709/711 |
Thursday, March 6, 2014 11:15AM - 11:51AM |
T38.00001: Jonathan Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award: Updating Lab Curricula via the Tom Sawyer method of painting a fence Invited Speaker: Gabriel Spalding The undergraduate curriculum ought to provide a broad foundation for a career in experimental science. (After all, even theoretical physicists benefit from a foundational understanding of experimentalism -- and may even, at some point in their careers, be called upon to teach undergraduate courses with labs.) Yet, while the teaching of mathematical formalism within the traditional physics major consists of an extended, ``spiral curriculum'' (which repeatedly revisits, reinforces, and refines key concepts), a great many programs would benefit from expanding the curricular ``space'' given to lab instruction: I will argue that research experience ought not be considered a substitute for the sort of broad grounding a full curriculum of lab instruction can provide. Most importantly, I will describe powerful ways in which we can help you to introduce new instructional lab modules (and models). Inertia is no longer a valid excuse: far too much assistance is available to you for it to be ignored. Let the revolution begin! [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 6, 2014 11:51AM - 12:27PM |
T38.00002: Building Scholars One Mistake at a Time Invited Speaker: Marty Johnston To be successful in research, a scientist must be able to integrate analytical, computational and experimental skills as needed while tackling a problem. However, the traditional physics curriculum tends to treat these skills in isolation. Since students seldom have the opportunity to integrate their skills in an instructional environment, it should come as no surprise that they struggle when faced with real problems in a research setting. Over the past decade we have reworked our curriculum to provide low-stakes opportunities for students to build skills and gain confidence as they investigate open-ended questions. These opportunities take place in a sophomore level Methods of Experimental Physics course as well as through laboratory homework instilled in E {\&} M and theoretical mechanics. The Methods course introduces students to research techniques while they investigate a single complex problem for the entire semester. While teaching skills systematically in a collaborative manner, the course provides a path between introductory physics and the upper-level curriculum and research. Laboratory homework hones students skills as they design simple investigations of the analytical and computational models developed in the courses. Along with the methods course and laboratory homework, topics have been added into the modern physics and optics courses that directly tie into faculty research. This prepares students for collaborative research with the faculty and has significantly impacted summer research productivity. Overall, these curricular changes have resulted in students who are far better prepared for the independence of a research setting, be it in academics or industry. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 6, 2014 12:27PM - 1:03PM |
T38.00003: Results from a model of course-based undergraduate research in the first- and second-year chemistry curriculum Invited Speaker: Gabriela Weaver The Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education (CASPiE) is a project funded by the URC program of the NSF Chemistry Division. The purpose of CASPiE was to provide students in first and second year laboratory courses with authentic research experiences as a gateway to more traditional forms of undergraduate research. Each research experience is a 6- to 8-week laboratory project based on and contributing to the research work of the experiment's author through data or preparation of samples. The CASPiE program has resulted in a model for engaging students in undergraduate research early in their college careers. To date, CASPiE has provided that experience to over 6000 students at 17 different institutions. Evaluation data collected has included student surveys, interviews and longitudinal analysis of performance. We have found that students' perceptions of their understanding of the material and the discipline increase over the course of the semester, whereas they are seen to decrease in the control courses. Students demonstrate a greater ability to explain the meaning and purpose of their experimental procedures and results and provide extensions to the experimental design, compared not only to control courses but also compared to inquiry-based courses. Longitudinal analysis of grades indicates a possible benefit to performance in courses related to the discipline two and three years later. A similar implementation in biology courses has demonstrated an increase in critical thinking scores. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 6, 2014 1:03PM - 1:39PM |
T38.00004: Capitalizing on Community: the Small College Environment and the Development of Researchers Invited Speaker: M.R. Stoneking Liberal arts colleges constitute an important source of and training ground for future scientists. At Lawrence University, we take advantage of our small college environment to prepare physics students for research careers by complementing content acquisition with skill development and project experience distributed throughout the curriculum \textit{and} with \quad co-curricular elements that are tied to our close-knit supportive physics community. Small classes and frequent contact between physics majors and faculty members offer opportunities for regular and detailed feedback on the development of research relevant skills such as laboratory record-keeping, data analysis, electronic circuit design, computational programming, experimental design and modification, and scientific communication. Part of our approach is to balance collaborative group work on small projects (such as Arduino-based electronics projects and optical design challenges) \textit{with} independent work (on, for example, advanced laboratory experimental extensions and senior capstone projects). Communal spaces and specialized facilities (experimental and computational) \textit{and} active on-campus research programs attract eager students to the program, establish a community-based atmosphere, provide unique opportunities for the development of research aptitude, and offer opportunities for genuine contribution to a research program. Recently, we have also been encouraging \textit{innovative }tendencies in physics majors through intentional efforts to develop personal characteristics, encouraging students to become more \textit{tolerant of ambiguity, risk-taking, initiative-seeking,} and \textit{articulate}. Indicators of the success of our approach include the roughly ten physics majors who graduate each year and our program's high ranking among institutions whose graduates go on to receive the Ph.D. in physics. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, March 6, 2014 1:39PM - 2:15PM |
T38.00005: Using instructional laboratories and research experiences in physics to build better people Invited Speaker: Sean Robinson I will describe ways in which instructional laboratories and research activities can interact in an undergraduate physics curriculum --- using the MIT Physics program both as an example of good practices and as a reflection of commonly occurring difficulties --- and argue that when executed as complementary elements of an academic program, research and instructional labs support not only the professional development of the student as a skilled scientist, but also the humanistic development of the student as a scientific thinker. [Preview Abstract] |
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